What would be the fastest way to get DVD rentals to materialize in users' hands the moment they added them to their queue? The US Postal Service? No. Bike messenger? No. Delivery drones? Just maybe...

With a tongue-in-cheek YouTube video, Netflix takes a friendly jab at its competitor Amazon and its announcement last year that it was working on delivery drones. The parody video broadcasts the roll out of a "groundbreaking" new feature called "Drone 2 Home."

The video shows a white, shoe-box sized, four-propeller drone carrying a red Netflix DVD envelope to people's doorsteps, across the San Francisco Bay, in front of St. Louis' Gateway Arch, and even into a public restroom.

"That's right, our fleet of high-tech drones will deliver your disk to you within mere seconds of you adding it to your queue," the video announces. "We have literally spent days working out most of the bugs. By enabling location services on your smartphone, the disk can come right to you wherever you may be."

While Netflix's "Drone 2 Home" program is obviously a spoof, Amazon is apparently serious about drone deliveries. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos appeared on "60 Minutes" in December to unveil the company's unusual drone plan. (Disclosure: "60 Minutes" is produced by CBS, which also is the parent company to CNET.)

Dubbed Amazon Prime Air, the idea is to deliver packages to customers via drone within 30 minutes of an order being placed. The service still requires more testing and clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration, so it might be another four to five years before Amazon's drones take to the skies.

Netflix's satirical video was created by the DVD.Netflix.com team and was posted to YouTube with permission from the company, according to the Los Angeles Times.

About the author

Dara Kerr is a staff writer for CNET focused on the sharing economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado where she developed an affinity for collecting fool's gold and spirit animals.
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